Carpe Diem
by Fantaspasia
Summary: Life is for the living. Death is for the dead. Let life be like music. And death a note unsaid. SI-OC
1. Intro Arc, pt 1

Last Edited 04/18/2019

Note: Carpe diem is part of an extended phrase (carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero), which, in translation, has the following meaning: 'pluck the day, trusting as little as possible in the future'. It pretty much means to make the most of the time you have because life is short. I found this phrase suited the story much more than any other I came across in my search, and though it might not be so clear right now, it will become more so as everything progresses.

Another thing. I'm not using the Japanese honorifics here, because I believe that in a world where Fairy Tail is real, it's not centered on an actual Japanese-speaking country. The story is just told in Japanese; therefore, most everything will be according to the English version. Every so often, I will swap terms around, like mage instead of wizard, for instance, or Stellar Spirits instead of Celestial Spirits (and I totally can't remember if that's just a manga thing or if the Japanese anime also includes those versions of the words, but it all started in Japan, so it still counts), because I like those versions better, but for the most part, the English version is my main source for words and names and titles, and such.

Enjoy.

 **Carpe Diem**

In the dictionary, you'd find death defined as a permanent cessation of all vital functions **:** the end of life. I'm sure the wording changes occasionally based on time and place, but the gist of it remains.

All things that live, in any shape or form, must someday die. It's the circle of life, and none are excluded from this truth.

Myself included.

My death was a simple one, shared, I'd guess, by more than a thousand others. Not special in any way.

Convenience store robbery. The assailant never saw me coming up behind him, and I was, myself, distracted by the music on my cell phone. I fumbled for a solitary instant, and my fate was sealed. I dropped my drink; the glass shattered.

The robber? Classic case of shoot first, ask questions later.

He panicked. I died.

It was supposed to be the end, but it wasn't. Not by a long shot.

 **Chapter 01**

"You realize it's probably going to be a bust, right?" I spoke up, glancing over at Lucy as we rounded another corner in our trek for the magic shop. "This is such a small town; I doubt they'll have anything truly worthwhile in the magic shop here."

Lucy smiled over at me, a bounce in her step as she excitedly perused the signs and displays set up for all to see. I had to admit; at the very least, Hargeon knew how to appeal to tourists and travelers, despite its small size.

Brightly colored shops and street vendors that served foods of all types. Clothing and books set up for all to see. Jewelry stands on every block. Bright, eye-catching souvenirs designed on the cheap with shoppers in mind. It was every tourist's dream.

Too bad for them we weren't the usual tourists.

"Oh, don't be such a downer, Lori. If this shop doesn't have any gate keys, then we'll just have to try one of the other magic shops in town. No worries." Bouncing on her feet in glee, Lucy squealed and raced ahead of me, darting into a shop on the left. "There it is!"

I followed at a more sedate pace, stepping inside the small shop just in time to see Lucy's face fall at the sight. It appeared to be a simple shop with all the basics, lots of accessories and items, all with simple spells and magics attached to them. Simple, over-the-counter potions. Books and scrolls meant for beginners just starting out and for visitors wanting simple, easy tricks. All of the most popular goods were displayed with pride, but this shop was built for tourists and I knew a true mage would be disappointed.

Lucy included.

She stepped up to the counter, and I followed to stand beside her as she rang the bell and plastered a polite smile on her face. A moment later, the shop's owner, a rather short man in a mustard yellow sweatshirt, came through a curtain in the back. "Well, hello ladies. What can I do for you?"

He was a little on the older side, and he had a kind look about him, although I could sense no more magic in him than any other non-mage we'd come across in the months since we'd run away. Over time, I'd gathered that those with mage potential had a tendency to absorb small amounts of magic into their containers, but it was very easy to tell the difference between trained and untrained mages and those without even the capacity for it. This man, it seemed, was of the last persuasion.

Considering that, it was no wonder he ran such a basic magic shop; the more shop owners knew about magic, I'd found, the better their merchandise tended to be.

"Yes, I was wondering if you could tell us where we could find some of the other magic shops in town. This is the first one we've come across since we got here," Lucy questioned, and as nice as she was trying to be about it, there was no easy way to ask someone where you could find their competitors. Not that he really had any competitors in a town this size; even with its obvious popularity, tourists and seafarers appeared to be the prime targets for business.

"I'm sorry, little lady, but this here is the only magic shop in these parts. But don't fret; we've got all the latest goods. Why don't you take a look around? I'm sure you'll find something to strike your fancy."

Lucy's face erupted in shock and disappointment. "No way! Really? And we came all this way. What a waste."

It was a testament to the old man's kindness that his expression didn't change even a fraction, at her words.

"Thank you, sir," I told him, reaching out to place my hand on Lucy's shoulder as I shot him a polite smile, "we'll take you up on that and let you know if we find anything."

Turning, I steered Lucy off to the side, away from the counter so we could look at the merchandise. "Be nice," I whispered, letting go of her shoulder so I could go look for Plue's key, knowing that it had to be hidden somewhere among all the other stuff that was sold here.

She nodded reluctantly, a disappointed frown on her face as she glanced uninterestedly at the shelves in front of her. I walked the short distance to the other side of the room and began glancing through the objects there. I skipped over the books and the bottles, letting my eyes flicker quickly over the smaller items, enchanted with simple spells meant more for amusement than anything else. A moment later, an excited squeal from somewhere behind me let me know that Lucy had found the key, and I turned as she bounded over to me and shoved a small brown box in my face. I blinked and took a step back, looking down at the shiny silver key set charmingly upon a white display pillow.

"Look! Look, Lori, see! It's the little doggy!" Lucy grinned over at me, and I could clearly see the happy twinkle in her eyes. "Can we get it, Lori, please?"

Several months ago, we'd unanimously agreed that'd I'd hold onto our money and handle major shopping decisions, because between the two of us, Lucy was the loose spender. She loved shopping far too much, and occasionally, she'd get excited and fall off into her own little world, forgetting about our limits. More than once, we'd had to camp out in the woods because we couldn't afford a hotel room after her shopping excursions in a new town.

"Lucy, it's a gate key," I told her obviously, rolling my eyes to emphasize the unspoken 'duh' in my statement. "Of course, we're getting it."

Her face lit up and she raced over to the counter, leaning on it excitedly. "How much is it for this?!"

He looked down at the key in Lucy's hands and back up at her eager face. "Ah, that one's not very powerful, you know."

"But I really, really want it," she responded, bouncing on her toes as she leaned up over the counter in her haste. "So, come on! How much?"

"It's 15,000 Jewel," he told her after a moment, his expression soft with kindness, and I blinked in confusion as I stepped up beside her, pulling out my wallet.

"That's actually not that bad," I commented, glancing down at my hands to count out the correct change. Most gate keys usually cost much more than that, even the weaker silver ones; it was why Lucy only had two silver keys, despite how many of them there were, in comparison to the rarer Zodiac keys. "Here you go, mister."

Lucy watched the exchange quietly, her energetic mood sobering a bit as she calmed, but by the smile on her face, I could tell she was still happy about her find. The older man passed me the receipt for the key, and I thanked him, turning to head for the door with Lucy right at my side. "Goodbye!" I called behind me as I ushered Lucy out ahead of me, stepping into the sunshine with a sigh.

Strange as it was, the man had given us a discount with no real prompting, and I couldn't help but wonder why. Was it because there were two of us? Was Lucy not so obviously rude as she could have been? Did she seduce him without even trying? Anything we'd done in there could have swayed him, and the fact of the matter was, we'd probably never know. In my experience, it was best not to dwell on things like that, especially considering that it wasn't likely to cause any harm. Perhaps, he really was just that kind of person.

We turned to walk down the street, and Lucy grinned over at me, holding up her new key proudly. "See? Told you it wouldn't be a bust!"

Well, not quite in those words, she didn't. Blinking, I smiled and nodded at her, deciding briefly to just let it go. "And now, you have _Nikola_. How long are you going to wait before you set up the contract, this time? Remember, Horologium wasn't exactly very happy when it took you a week to get to his contract."

She waved her hand dismissively, completely ignoring my warning. "I'll take care of it later. Right now, I want to get a better look at the rest of Hargeon. I know it's a bit on the small side, but there's bound to be lots of interesting stuff that comes in from the other ports."

I nodded in agreement, but Lucy, distracted by the window display of a dress shop on our right, completely missed the action. The dress in the window was a light pink, with a strapless, heart-shaped neckline and a long, flowy skirt. Considering the Fiorian style right now, it was a rather pretty dress, and by the look of the store, also rather expensive.

"No," I told Lucy, pushing her past the shop with a hand on her shoulder. "We can't afford anything like that, right now."

"Aw, but Lori!" she whined, looking over her shoulder as she tried to get another glimpse. "Can't we just look? We don't have to buy anything, Lori. I just wanna try it on, I swear! Please?"

"No," I repeated, grabbing onto her hand so she couldn't try to get away, and as we came to the corner, I tugged her around it to the next street. "You already have one dress; you don't need another, and that shop looked really expensive anyway. We don't have the money to be wasting on stuff like that."

Her shoulders slumped and Lucy sighed, pouting. "Yeah, you're right. It's not like we're going to be invited to any nice parties any time soon, anyway. Man, this sucks."

I squeezed her hand gently and then let go. "I know it's not really all that fair, but that's how it is, right now. Someday, we'll join a guild, and then, you'll find plenty of reasons to wear a pretty dress."

Lucy grinned over at me, and most of the disappointment cleared from her expression. "Not just any guild! We're going to be members of Fairy Tail!" she exclaimed, pumping her fist excitedly. "We'll go on lots of exciting jobs and make tons of money, and then, we can go shopping all we want without having to worry about being practical."

"It sounds like lots of fun," I told her, smiling at her enthusiasm, "but we need to actually join first. I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself."

"Yeah, I know," She told me, and her smile fell a bit in disappointment. "It sucks that joining is supposed to be invitation-only, though. Do you think there could be another way to get noticed and become a member?"

I shrugged. "We might just have to go to the guild and ask about it."

Lucy blanched in shock, coming to a halt on the sidewalk. "You can do that?!"

"Well, yeah, I don't see why not," I responded, shrugging. "It's not like the location is a secret, and Fairy Tail is a really popular guild. I'm sure we wouldn't be the first to just walk in and ask for an invitation."

Lucy blinked, a stunned look on her face, and then, in a flurry, she grabbed my shoulders and started shaking. "Lori! Why didn't you tell me this sooner?! We could have already been members by now!"

Laughing, I reached up to grab her hands and stop the shaking. "I figured you already knew about that option and just didn't want to come off as rude, or something. Besides, we were having so much fun travelling around that it honestly slipped my mind."

"Well, that does make sense." Lucy's energy seemed to flop right out of her, and she sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "I can't believe I never thought of that, though. Do you think they'd accept us, Lori?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course, they would, Lucy. They'd be stupid not to." I linked my arm with hers and pulled her down the street to get her walking again, grinning over at her. "I mean, we're pretty awesome mages, if I do say so, but even if we were total weaklings, I don't think that would matter. Fairy Tail doesn't care so much about power as a guild like Phantom Lord would, and the members all seem like they're pretty close, from what I can tell."

Lucy smiled, and her face lit up in relief and happiness. It looked like a weight had been lifted off of her, and my heart warmed at the sight. I hated it when she doubted herself like that, and though I always tried to bring her out of it, every so often, it didn't work out so well as today.

We rounded the next corner, and almost immediately, I was shoved into Lucy from behind as a gaggle of girls raced past us, giggling and shrieking in glee. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" Lucy yelled, glaring angrily in the direction the women had gone. "Well, that was rude," she said, crossing her arms under her chest. "I wonder what's going on?"

Looking ahead, I noted that the women who ran into me weren't the only ones acting strange; I could see at least ten others further ahead, coming out of shops, abandoning the booths they were standing at. Every one of them, I noticed, turned a corner at the next block, and the shrieking and cheering was so loud that there was no doubt in my mind about what would come next.

Bora.

"…a famous mage…" I overheard one girl saying as a few more hurried past us, and I shared a confused look with Lucy.

"It's Salamander!" One of them squealed, and beside me, Lucy's jaw dropped open.

"Is she serious?!" Lucy exclaimed beside me, shocked excitement filling her expression. "I've heard of Salamander; his fire magic is supposed to be really unique! You can't even buy it in stores!"

"Really?" I asked, adopting a curious look as I glanced at the girls rounding the corner ahead of us.

"I can't believe he's here! Lori, do you think we should check it out?" She asked, looking over at me with a curious sort of eagerness on her face, and I couldn't help a little smile at her enthusiasm.

"We might as well," I told her with a light shrug, taking a few steps down the street. "We can see what all the fuss is about, at least."

Lucy didn't waste any time; she bounded ahead, not quite running, but kept up a pace just shy of it, in her excitement over the situation. I followed a few paces behind her, and as we came up on the street all the commotion was centered on, I spotted the full extent of the crowd. It seemed to be just about thirty women, all appearing to be somewhere in their twenties, and they were crowding a spot just over a hundred feet down. Lucy pushed forward, eyes on the crowd, and I turned to follow, speed-walking a bit to keep up with her. The noise level increased the closer we got, and as we came upon the mass of women, I grabbed Lucy's hand to avoid being separated. She glanced back to meet my eyes once, hers' bright and jubilant, and then, she squeezed my hand and pushed into the throng.

Surrounded on all sides by charmed women, I sensed the magic immediately, felt the way it had settled into them like a poison of the heart, and I found myself grateful for the foreknowledge which made me immune to the spell; charm magic, after all, didn't work on people who were aware of its use. We broke through the crowd after a moment, and I got my first real look at the man who was Bora. He was tall and thin with short dark blue hair, and his outfit was an overelaborate combination of pinstriped pants and a knee-length high-collared cape. And then, Lucy's hand in mine slackened as the charm worked its way into her heart, and I turned to look at her cautiously, noting the change in her expression, the way she gazed at him with disturbing reverence. Determined, I let go of her hand and stepped in front of her to block her view of Bora, reaching up to grab her shoulders.

"Lucy, snap out of it!" I exclaimed, shaking her ferociously, and as her eyes pulled from Bora's form and settled on mine, the charm that had captivated her broke away. Vaguely and as if from far off, I thought I heard a male voice call out from somewhere behind me, indistinct in the noise of the crowd. A look of shock came upon her face, and then indignation replaced it as she glared over my shoulder at the man responsible for the spell.

"Igneel!" A male voice shouted, loud and full of excitement, and my hands fell from Lucy's shoulders as I turned to face the commotion.

I blinked in shock at the sight before me. A boy I knew had to be Natsu was on all fours at the edge of the crowd, appearing as if he'd just crawled through many of the women's legs to get to the front, and he was looking up at Bora with a look of confusion on his face. The women, still thoroughly charmed, were glaring down at him as if he'd just interrupted some grand moment, but he paid them no attention, his dark eyes shifting in disappointment and distaste.

"Who are you?" He asked, his nose wrinkling a little as he rose to his feet, and as he did, I got a better look at him.

He was taller than me by at least several inches, and his spiky pink hair was eye-catching, but not too bright or obnoxious, despite that. It had a pleasant sort of natural look to it, clashing nicely against his tanned skin and dark, dark eyes, and I had to look away when my gaze lowered enough to realize just how much of his torso was left bare by his style choices. I felt a little warm, then, but I pushed the feeling away and turned my full focus on Bora, watching as his expression shifted from shocked to smug and vain.

"I am Salamander," He said, rubbing his chin with a pompous smirk on his face. "Surely, you've heard of me."

Natsu just turned and started walking away, his entire form oozing dejection, and the girls, completely enamored with Bora, let him slip right through the crowd. "Hey, wait a minute!" Bora yelled, his expression shifting in irritated shock, and the girls around us reacted to his words in the way that charmed individuals usually did.

"Hey!" One girl shouted, grabbing onto the scaled scarf hanging from Natsu's neck. "You're rude!" She pulled on it, accompanied by several other women, who grabbed him by his arms, his clothing, his backpack, and together, they dragged and pulled him between them, their faces filled with charmed rage.

"Salamander is a great mage!"

"Apologize to him!"

"What the heck!" I heard Natsu shout, and my fists clenched as I watched the scene. "Hey, let go of me!"

"Call them off!" I ordered, turning to glare at Bora as I pointed at the wild bunch of girls. "Do it, right now!"

He looked at me for a moment, his expression full of arrogance but unreadable, otherwise, and then, he smirked. "That's enough, girls; let him go," Bora spoke up with a little wink at the surrounding women. "I'm sure he didn't mean it."

The women seemed to take that as some kind of sign, doing a complete one-eighty as they swarmed back around Bora, dropping Natsu like a stone, in their wake. As Natsu disappeared from my view, hidden by the crowd, Bora took a pen and a large piece of cardstock out of the folds of his cape, plucking it from some hidden hammerspace pocket, and he scrawled on it for a moment. The girls shifted a bit, and Natsu came back into my line of sight, sitting up on his knees and rubbing his head, and Bora walked over to him, presenting the card with a flourish.

"Here's my autograph; you can show it off to your friends," Bora told him conceitedly, and Natsu's face twisted in distaste.

"I don't want it," He said, and the girls who'd previously been fawning over Bora all seemed to react as one, grabbing Natsu by his arms and legs and throwing him bodily down the street, screeching at him all the way. I couldn't help but wince in sympathy; it wasn't like he could even really fight back. The charm, alone, was enough of a deterrent, but none of these girls were mages, which just made it worse.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, ladies," Bora began saying, looking around at the girls, and for a moment, his gaze landed on me and Lucy, "but I have some errands to run at the port, so you'll have to excuse me." He snapped his fingers, and purple fire erupted around his feet, carrying him up into the air. "I'm having a party on my ship tonight, and you're all invited!"

And, then, he was gone.

 **End Chapter**

So, I made some changes, and the events in Hargeon will probably all be a bit different, for those of you who've read this before the edits. Hopefully, I can make some of the chapters longer, while I'm at it, because that's one thing that was bugging me, before. Another thing that's changing is Lori's sensitivity to magic; it's no longer going to be an issue, so as a result, a lot of the stuff that happens in the rest of the Hargeon chapters will be a little different. I just wanted to warn everyone.


	2. Intro Arc, pt 2

Last Edited 04/09/2019

 **Important!** Alright, so I made some changes to the plot, mostly involving Lori's sensitivity to magic, although a lot of the other stuff that happens during Hargeon will also change, as a result. I've already gone through the first two chapters, and while chapter 01 only really had minor edits and an extended scene to cover the changed events with Bora (you guys might want to go back and read through that bit again), this chapter got entirely rewritten. Because so many of the next few chapters are going to end up just as rewritten as this one, I'm deleting those from the site and reposting as I finish going through them. It shouldn't take that long this time around because I'm kind of on a writing binge, at the moment, but it's mostly Hargeon that's changing, regardless. Everything afterwards should turn out mostly the same as before, though I will be going through the other chapters for minor edits, while I'm at it.

I'm only deleting all these chapters because of how much rewriting I've been doing; my original plan was to work through the edits and post them up all at once, but given how much this one thing is changing, I decided that this way would work out better for you guys. Just don't forget to go back and check out the edits on chapter one; most of them will be during the second half of the chapter, for those of you who might not want to reread the whole thing.

 **Chapter 02**

"Hey, Lori, look! Fairy Tail has been causing trouble again," Lucy told me excitedly, pointing at something in the issue of Sorcerer Weekly on her lap.

"Yeah? What'd they do this time?" I leaned over to glance down at the article in question, spotting the appropriate picture immediately.

It showed what seemed to be a small town in the aftermath of a disaster of a mage fight; the shot was taken from a distance, displaying several ruined homes on what appeared to be the remains of a higher end residential area, though I couldn't tell any more than that from the photo. Lucy pointed briefly at the article below the image and began paraphrasing what she'd read.

"They wiped out the Devon thief family, but it seems like several of the neighbors' houses got destroyed, in the process," She said, looking up at me with an amused grin on her face. "How do you even cause that much property damage accidentally? That's way overboard!"

"Overboard doesn't even begin to cover it," I replied, rolling my eyes pleasantly at her observation, "but then, Fairy Tail is pretty well-known for stuff like this. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even get a reward for doing the job, in the first place, as much as the damages would cost."

"Probably not," Lucy agreed, flipping the page absently, and as she did, her expression lightened in awe and curiosity. "Oh, Mirajane is the centerfold! Do you think someone like her would be so reckless, Lori?"

"She doesn't really seem like the type, though, does she?" I responded, and Lucy smiled, her expression seeming to convey that she agreed with my assessment. "But don't forget that she is part of Fairy Tail; she's bound to be reckless, sometimes." Her face shifted in contemplation, so I knew I'd gotten her thinking; I just hated that I couldn't tell her any more than that without revealing knowledge I shouldn't be privy to.

"I wonder what they look for in a mage, though?" Lucy asked aloud, glancing thoughtfully up at the sky. "I know it's supposed to be invitation-only, but that doesn't give us a lot of information. Is there an interview process? Do we have to learn some strong magic?"

"I'm sure we'll figure it out," I told her with a reassuring smile, and she answered me with an excited grin of her own.

"Yeah, we will! There's no way I'm giving up on this; the Fairy Tail guild is totally the best!" Lucy exclaimed energetically with a large grin on her face, and I couldn't help a fond smile of my own.

"I see; so you want to join Fairy Tail." The voice came from Lucy's left, and she shrieked in surprise, sliding over into me when Bora popped up out of the bushes like the creeper he really was.

"S-Salamander!" She exclaimed in shock, and I scowled over at the man, rising to my feet as he stepped out onto the cobbled path with us; an instant later, Lucy stood and joined my side with an affronted look on her face.

"Oh, man. I've been looking all over for the two of you," He said, ignoring the fact that he'd interrupted a private conversation, "I really wanted to invite you lovely ladies to the party on my ship, tonight."

"Your charm magic won't work on us," I told him, eyes narrowing into a warning glare.

"That magic's weakness is awareness," Lucy explained, lifting a hand to point at him dramatically. "It's useless now that we know you're using it."

"You're mages, aren't you?" Bora questioned with a self-satisfied smirk, although it came out sounding more like a statement. "I knew it from the moment I saw you together, but it's no matter. The invitation to my party still stands."

"Not happening!" Lucy exclaimed, crossing her arms. "We're not going near a party thrown by a creep like you!"

"A creep? Me?" Bora blinked, his face adopting a horrible imitation of a pout, and I scoffed.

"Using charm magic on all those women," I clarified, voice firm and disapproving. "There's a reason it was banned, you know."

"Do you really want to be popular that much?" Lucy asked with a glare.

"Don't worry about that; it's all in good fun," Bora explained, winking at us, as if it would help his case. "I just want to be popular at my party. Can you really blame me for that?"

"Yes," I responded with a scowl. Bora ignored me.

"You're an idiot. Charm magic isn't even close to true popularity," Lucy told him, turning to give me a questioning look, and I knew she was ready to bail. I nodded.

"Wait!" And, apparently, Bora caught that exchange. Goody. "You want to join Fairy Tail, correct? Have you ever heard of Salamander, from Fairy Tail? Hmm?" He smirked like the cat that caught the canary, and I scoffed.

"You're telling me that you're a Fairy Tail mage?!" Lucy exclaimed, a shocked expression on her face.

Bora nodded smugly. "I am, and if you both come to the party, perhaps I can talk to the master for you?"

Lucy positively glittered in excitement, but I was not so happy. I really hadn't wanted to have to deal with this party, but there was too much at stake not to go. Fairy Tail was one thing, but all those women would be in danger if we bailed, especially considering that Natsu's motion-sickness would end up complicating things.

"Of course! It'll be a wonderful party, won't it?!" Lucy gushed, clasping her hands together eagerly.

Bora seemed to sink in relief at that, smirking in satisfaction.

"And you're sure you can really get us in?" Lucy asked, looking up at him with naïve hope on her face.

"I sure can. Just don't tell anyone about the charm spell, okay?" He grinned, and Lucy nodded rapidly in agreement.

"Okay!"

"Well, I'm off, then. I'll see you both at the party!"

* * *

"No. Not happening," I told Lucy, walking along down the street ahead of her. "We already have dresses, Lucy. We don't need to get more of them."

"But this is Fairy Tail, Lori!" Lucy explained with an almost whining tone in her voice. "You don't want to, at least, look? What if we find a good discount?"

"The dresses we have are fine; there's no point," I responded firmly, glancing briefly at the shop windows, as we passed. "What we really need is some food; we haven't had anything since breakfast, and it's already after two."

"Aw, but Lori!"

"No, Lucy, and that's my final decision," I said, turning a corner as we came up to it. Surely, there was a restaurant around here, somewhere? "Besides, how are you even sure he's telling us the truth? That guy is way too nasty for Fairy Tail." Lucy faltered and didn't answer, so I paused in my search to look back at her with a gentler expression. "Look, I'm not trying to be mean about it, but dresses can be expensive, and we need to save what money we've got. The party is tonight, anyway; we'd never find something new in time." Lucy's gloomy expression cleared a little at my words, but she still looked a little down, so I continued. "And as for Salamander, well, we'll go check out the party and keep an eye on him, but I really don't trust that man."

"I get it; I really do, Lori." There was a sort of downhearted look on her face, but I saw understanding in her eyes, as well, which lifted my spirits a bit. It meant that she'd be okay. "It's just that this is the first real possibility at an invitation that we've had."

"I know," I told her with a soft smile. "You're allowed to be excited; that's completely normal. I just want you to be careful because we really don't know that man."

"Okay." Lucy nodded, her expression serious but happier, all the same. "I can do that."

I jerked my head toward the street ahead of us, grinning a little. "Alright, well, let's go find something to eat."

"Yeah, okay."

Lucy took my hand and turned to walk down the street again, visibly more active than before, and affection filled me as I looked at her. Squeezing her hand a little, I turned my gaze to the shops around us, keeping my eyes peeled for restaurants. I glanced at the signs and displays, and finding nothing, I moved on; we came up on another corner a few minutes later, and I pointed it out to Lucy with my free hand. She met my eyes once, and then, we turned, heading down this new street together.

And then, I saw it.

The sign said "The Little Easy" and there was a glass window along the front wall; I couldn't see inside clearly from my angle, but there was a section of outdoor tables along the front that made its food-related properties rather obvious. It was the customers that drew my attention. Or, rather, the pink and blue hopefuls drooling over everyone else's food.

"Hey, I know you!" Lucy exclaimed, pointing at Natsu with her free hand, and I dropped the other one absently, as she did. "You showed up before, with Salamander and those girls!"

Natsu looked up at us with a grin, heedless of the angry customers on either side of him; he was leaning up over their table, rather close to their nice-looking steak platters. A table over, I spotted a little blue cat peeking at some kind of fish plate, ignoring the patrons, who were glaring and trying to shoo him away.

We'd left Natsu and Happy rather abruptly the last time I saw them; Lucy had been so angry over the situation with Bora that she'd stormed off the moment he was gone, and I hadn't had the chance to get a word in, edgewise. It was, admittedly, a little troubling, but I knew Natsu would crash the party tonight, so I hadn't bothered to worry over it, too much. Lucy belonged with Fairy Tail, and that was a truth I knew with absolute certainty.

"What are you doing?" I asked, gesturing vaguely at the scene he was making. "You do realize that's not your food, right?"

"Man, that steak looks really tasty!" He glanced back down at the plate with an excited, hungry gleam in his eyes. "Wish I had one!"

"Then, go get one!" Lucy yelled, pointing at him with gusto. "Don't just stand here staring at someone else's food! That's rude!" The customers around us nodded emphatically at her words but otherwise said nothing, predicting, perhaps, that their words would fall on deaf ears.

"The entrance is right over there," I told him, pointing at the doorway sitting just ten feet away, but when Natsu saw said entrance, his eyes got all glassy and a rather dejected look came over his face.

"I can't; I don't have any money," He told us with a melancholy expression, looking as if that was the worst news he could possibly dish out.

"Aye," Came a higher-pitched voice from a table over, but the little blue cat that had spoken didn't even bother looking up, as he did.

"Seriously." A rather dispassionate frown tugged Lucy's lips downward, and I rolled my eyes a bit at the ridiculousness of it all.

"So, you go to a restaurant where paying customers are eating and you fawn all over their food because you can't afford to buy any of it?" I asked, summing up the situation, and several of the patrons around us gave vocal agreements to my assessment.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Natsu agreed with a nod and a reflexive grin.

I couldn't help but sigh. "Come on, then," I told him, pointing at the entrance with my thumb. "I suppose we can treat you, this once." I met Lucy's eyes with a shared frown, and I saw enough acceptance in hers' to know that she was okay with my offer.

"Really?" Natsu's face lit up at my words. "Awesome!"

"Aye, Sir!" Happy exclaimed, jumping away from the table he'd been eyeing with an excited smile.

Cheering erupted from the customers around us, glad that Natsu and Happy were no longer their problem, and I felt my face warm a little at the attention. Turning, I made my way over to the entrance and pulled open the wooden door, glancing back over my shoulder at the others.

"Well, let's go, then," I told them, gesturing inside with one hand. "I'm hungry, too, you know."

Natsu grinned exuberantly, throwing up his arms in an approximation of a cheer, and beside him, Happy did the same; I rolled my eyes and turned to step inside, lips twitching a bit at their sheer energy. I heard them all follow me inside an instant later, and as we stepped past the entryway, a hostess stepped out from behind a podium set up at the edge of the main dining area.

"How many?" She asked politely, reaching out for a stack of menus.

"There are four of us," I told her, and she blinked, looking over our little group more closely, until her eyes finally fell upon Happy.

"Oh, I'm sorry," She said, gesturing down at him, "but we don't allow pets."

"Happy's not a pet; he's my friend!" Natsu exclaimed angrily from beside me, his fist clenching reflexively, and I reached over to place a hand on his shoulder, shooting him a look when he met my eyes.

"I understand that, Ma'am," I told her firmly, keeping my tone even and polite, "but he's not a normal cat; he's a mage, too."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" The hostess' eyes widened as she looked between Happy and the rest of us. "I didn't know."

"That's okay," I responded with a smile and a shake of the head. "Magic comes in all shapes and sizes, and you were just doing your job, besides; you can't be faulted for that."

"Well, then." She gathered up a handful of menus and silverware, smiling back at us as she gestured at the dining room. "Right this way."

She led us through the dining room and to a booth toward the back, separated just a little from the other patrons, for added privacy, and as she laid out the menus and silverware in the appropriate manner, we slid into our seats with Lucy and I on one side and Natsu and Happy on the other.

"Your waitress will be with you shortly," The hostess told us cheerfully as she looked around at us, "but can I start you off with some drinks, while you wait?"

"Just water, for me," I responded, and she turned to the others, who all ended up repeating my order.

"Alright, then; four waters coming right up." She said, and it was only after she'd walked off to gather said drinks that the others turned to me.

"That was pretty quick thinking back there, Lori," Lucy commented, smiling over at me proudly.

"Yeah, how'd you know that would work?" Natsu asked curiously, crossing his arms while he looked at me over the table.

"It's like mage was some kind of magic word, or something," Happy piped up, sitting next to the wall up on the table, likely due to his height.

"It wasn't really that difficult," I told them, fiddling with my hair nervously. "There's all kinds of magic out there, so places like this are usually more lenient with mages, because of it."

"Oh, okay." Natsu nodded, grinning reflexively, and I smiled back automatically. "It's still pretty cool that you knew that, though; you must be really smart."

"No more than Lucy; I'm just resourceful, is all," I responded, trying to ignore the warmth in my face, at his praise.

"Alright, here you go," The hostess said, coming up out of nowhere and setting a little round tray with four clear glasses of water onto the table between us. She grabbed the drinks two at a time, placing them in front of each of us, and then, she gathered up her tray and stepped back from the table. "Your waitress should only be a few more moments; I hope you enjoy your meal with us!"

"Thank you," Lucy told her, picking up the menu in front of her as the hostess left us to our own devices. "I guess we should actually look at these before the waitress does show up, huh?"

* * *

"Oh, wow, I completely forgot," I murmured aloud, blinking in shock as I looked up from the club sandwich in front of me.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, looking at me from over her own meal, grilled chicken over a bed of seasoned rice. "What'd you forget?"

Natsu grunted a little, but he was so preoccupied with the three large platters in front of him that he didn't bother looking up. He took a large bite out of the burger in his hands, chewing noisily, and beside him, Happy was munching just as loudly on a cut up piece of raw fish.

"We never actually introduced ourselves; I don't even know your names, yet," I said, and Lucy froze, her eyes wide.

Across from me, Natsu choked and started pounding on his chest in an effort to dislodge the food in his throat, and Happy dropped his piece of fish back onto the plate with a dramatic shriek, his little blue paws coming up to cup his face. "You mean, your names aren't actually Thing 1 and Thing 2?!" He exclaimed rudely, pointing at us and looking, for all the world, like we'd done him wrong, somehow.

"What?! No!" I responded fiercely, relaxing only marginally when, beside him, Natsu finally managed to force down the food he'd gotten stuck in his throat. "That's not even close to being accurate!"

"Where did you even get that?!" Lucy asked, her expression torn between irritation and shock.

"So, what are your names, then?" Natsu spoke up, pulling the attention away from Happy as he looked over at us curiously. "I didn't even realize we'd missed it."

"Oh, well, this is my sister Lucy," I told him, gesturing to my left, and Lucy gave an awkward little wave while still managing to look angry at Happy's comment, "And I'm Lori." I held my hand out across the table. "It's nice to meet you, um, officially." Natsu grinned and reached out to take my hand in his, and as his fingers closed around mine, heat seared through me with an intensity that tore the words right out of me. "Oh, wow, you're so _hot_!"

Several things happened at once, then. Next to me, Lucy choked on air, torn somewhere between shock and hilarity, but across from her, Happy didn't have that problem, laughing and pointing obnoxiously over at me as if I'd just told the funniest joke he'd ever heard. I let go of Natsu's hand abruptly, tucking it back into my lap as my face reddened irretrievably in mortification, but his grin only widened, in response.

"Yeah, that's always like that; sorry I didn't warn you," He told me, reaching back to ruffle his hair absently. "My name's Natsu, by the way, and that's Happy."

I tried to hold his gaze, but when my face only reddened further, I had to look away, mumbling something incoherent as I went about busying myself with my food. The conversation died out after that, though Happy kept snickering from time to time, and even Lucy seemed to take pity on me because she stayed quiet and managed to avoid teasing me, as she usually would. Instead, we all focused on our food, the rest of us eating much more neatly than Natsu, even Happy, who seemed content just to have some fish in his belly. By contrast, Natsu gorged on his, moving from one plate to another so fast that I feared he'd choke again, though he managed to pause every so often for a drink of water. It was sort of fascinating, in a really disgusting way, but the longer I watched, the more my appetite seemed to suffer, so I'd had to make myself look away, at last, focusing intently on my sandwich.

"Man, that was good!" Some time later, Natsu burped loudly across from me and leaned back against the booth, rubbing his stomach contently. "I'm so stuffed!"

"Oh, hey, I am curious about something, though," I said, looking over at Natsu questioningly, as I did. "When we ran into you earlier, you seemed to be looking for someone?"

"Aye!" Happy crowed in agreement, lifting one paw in emphasis while using the other to pack away his leftovers. "It's Igneel," He said, by way of explanation, and beside him, Natsu nodded.

"I heard a rumor that a salamander was coming to this town, so we came to check it out, but it turns out that it was somebody else," Natsu explained, crossing his arms with a disappointed look on his face.

"He didn't even look like a real salamander," Happy commented, and I felt my eyebrow twitch a little. Honestly, if I didn't already have all this information, I'd be completely lost; it seemed that Natsu and Happy were really bad at explaining stuff.

"I don't get it," Lucy said, looking between them in confusion. "How could a person look like a salamander?"

"Hmm?" Natsu blinked over at us, looking as if the answer should have been obvious. "Igneel's not a person; he's a dragon."

Lucy screeched in shock beside me, and I jumped at the action, reaching out to steady my water glass when it tilted. "Why would a dragon show up in the middle of town?!" Across from us, Natsu and Happy froze, eyes wide in stunned disbelief. "Don't tell me you only just noticed; it's completely ridiculous!"

"Lucy, don't be rude," I whispered, choking back a laugh at the looks on the boys' faces.

"I'm not rude; they're just dense," She said, looking over at me defensively. "So, are you ready to go, yet? We still have to get ready for later."

"Oh, yeah, I'm done," I told her, reaching down to grab our little backpack from the floor by my feet.

Undoing the closure, I shoved my hand inside and pulled out the wallet I'd stored in the hammerspace inside, grabbing the bill our waitress had left on the table with our food, as I did so. Consulting the check for the appropriate amount, I dug out enough cash to cover that, plus tip, and then, I folded it all into the little ticket book and set it down at the end of the table.

"Goodbye," I told the boys, waving a little as I stood so Lucy could slide out behind me. "It was nice meeting you; maybe, we'll see each other again sometime?"

"Wait just a minute!" Natsu exclaimed fiercely an instant later, and I turned toward him as he leapt from the booth and came to stand in front of me, Happy following right behind him.

I blinked in confusion, looking from one to the other, but Natsu didn't wait for me to ask questions, bounding forward before I could even blink. I jerked back instinctively as he closed in, but his hand grasped my arm and pulled, and suddenly, I was surrounded by scalding heat. My nose was pressed harshly into his collarbone, so closely that all I could smell was woodsmoke and spice, and as I twisted my face to the side, squirming a little at the tightness of his arms around me, a mass of blue and white fur blinded me. There was a weight on my shoulder and little blue arms wrapped around my head, and it would have been kind of sweet, if not for the fur in my mouth and the smell of raw fish that assaulted my nostrils.

"What do you think you're doing?" Lucy demanded from somewhere behind me, voice firm and angry. "Let go of her!"

"Thank you for the food!" Two voices yelled in sync, one of which screeched directly into my ear, and I jumped at the shock of it, letting out a shriek that was muffled by the mass of fur attached to my face.

"I said, let go!" And then, the weight attached to my head was gone, pulled away harshly and loudly by my irritable sister. In the next instant, I was hitting the floor with a screech, accompanied by similar yelling from Lucy, behind me. "Hey, let go of me! Don't you have any manners?! I don't want a hug, you jerk!"

"Thank you!"

 **End Chapter**

This was totally not how I pictured this chapter ending, but Natsu just really seemed to want a hug, this go around, and you all know how he can get, sometimes. ;)

Anyway, it was a lot of fun to write, although I cut back a little on the typical restaurant stuff, to help it along a bit. The rest of Hargeon will be different, from here on out, so don't forget to keep an eye out for updates over the next couple of weeks.


	3. Intro Arc, pt 3

Last Edited 04/16/2019

Here's the next chapter, new and improved!

Enjoy.

 **Chapter 03**

"—can't believe how loud a person and a cat can be," Lucy was saying, her back to me as she fiddled with her dress a bit. "It took an hour for my ears to stop ringing!"

I gave a noncommittal noise in agreement to show I was listening, but she'd been complaining since we got back to the hotel room we'd booked upon arrival in Hargeon this morning, so it wasn't exactly anything new. She'd finish up here in a bit, I knew, when her excitement over the coming party took over. Personally, I just wanted to get it over with; the sooner we dealt with Bora, the sooner we could leave Hargeon behind and get on with joining Fairy Tail.

"I mean, I know they were just happy we bought food for them, but that was a bit too much gratitude for me," Lucy continued, and I hummed a little, contemplating which skirt style to go for with the two-piece dress I was going to be wearing. I'd already decided on the halter top variation to avoid any mishaps with cleavage, but the skirt was proving more difficult. Which, technically, the different pieces went to different dresses, but they were made of similar fabric and they'd all come from the same company, so it didn't really matter all that much, especially since I'd found the bunch at a huge discount brought on by a going-out-of-business sale.

"Hey, what do you think about this?" Lucy asked a moment later, and I looked up from my decision-making to glance at her. "Is this color good, or do you think I should change it?"

Lucy was wearing what appeared to be the same dress from the series, if my memory had it right; it was a long halter strap dress with a slit going up the right leg, but rather than the burgundy shade I was sure it had been, this one was a deep teal blue. The color was gorgeous, of course; Lucy's fair skin was more neutral than anything, so we'd found that she looked good in most any color.

"It looks great, but I kind of thought you'd pick something more like red or pink," I told her honestly, tilting my head a bit as I surveyed her appearance. "What made you choose this?"

"You did, Silly," she responded with a rather fond eye roll, gesturing at the dress. "You told me to be careful, so I thought a cooler color would be less bold, maybe, make it easier to be overlooked in a crowd." I blinked and a look of mild shock came over my face; I hadn't expected her to actually take my words so literally, but somehow, Lucy always found a way to surprise me. "And I was wondering if you could help me find a good place for my keys?"

"Don't you have a thigh holster you could use?" I asked her, remembering when she'd bought it just weeks after we'd found the dresses; it had been intentional, on her part, to make sure she had a place for them, no matter what she was wearing.

"Well, yeah, but don't you think that might be too obvious? If we're trying to be cautious, then we'd want to keep stuff like that hidden, right, and there's no way to hide the holster in this dress. The slit's too high for that."

"Wow, you've really thought this through, haven't you?" I asked, and affection filled me as I looked at her. "I'm actually impressed; I didn't expect you to go this far when I told you to be careful."

What, did you expect me to ignore you, or something?" Lucy asked, placing her hands on her hips. "Even I can tell this guy is majorly foul, even if he can get us into Fairy Tail, and I trust your judgement, besides. You're rarely wrong about these things, and I'd be stupid to disregard that."

I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my face, at her words; Lucy had come far in all the years we'd been sisters, so much farther than I'd ever thought my influence alone could bring her, and it never ceased to amaze me just how much my opinion mattered, how deeply she cared for the girl who should never have existed.

It made me feel, for an instant, like I truly belonged in this world.

* * *

"So, all we have to do is follow all these other girls, and we'll find the party?" Lucy asked, looking doubtfully back and forth between me and the group of women just down the street ahead of us.

"Are you saying you have a better idea?" I asked in return, crossing my arms definitively underneath my chest. "This is our best shot; Salamander never actually told us how to get there. We don't even know which ship we're looking for."

"Yeah, I know." Lucy sighed and hung her head a little. "I just don't like following people; it makes me feel like we're sneaking around, or something."

"I get it; I really do," I told her, lifting a hand to point down the street, "but if we don't hurry, we'll lose them, and then, we'll never find the party in time."

Lucy jumped and made a little noise of shock, reaching out to grab my hand. "Let's go, then! I am not missing this party!"

And then, we were off, bounding along behind the small group of women, dressed to the nines and completely unaware of their surroundings as they chittered back and forth. We walked for about half an hour and past three other sections at the docks before the ship came into view, and I knew it was the right one the moment I saw it, despite the other ships in port. It was larger than the others, more elaborate, but what made me so sure it was the right one was the large banner hanging right by the walkway that'd been set up for all the girls. It was the same dark purple as Bora's cape with the same image on the front, round and appearing to me almost like a ship's steering wheel; there was a man standing on each side of the gangplank, likely to be part of Bora's crew, and I could already see women starting to board.

"Well, I guess this is it," I murmured, apprehension for the night ahead filling me.

"Yeah." Lucy took a deep breath and shot me a nervous smile. "Let's go."

Stepping onto the ship led us right onto the main deck, and when most of the women ahead of us branched off to the left, Lucy and I decided, automatically, to follow them. The space we found ourselves walking was almost like an outdoor hallway, of sorts, leading to a more open area about a hundred feet down, and as we rounded the final corner, I found myself less than impressed. Bora and his men had clearly not put a lot of effort into this party; there were round tables set up around the deck space, each covered in simple white tablecloths and with about six chairs surrounding them. A longer table had been set up along one side, atop which was placed a selection of wine and glasses to drink it from. There were no other refreshments, and a glance around confirmed an absolute lack of entertainment. As far as parties went, it wasn't shaping up to be a very good one, and that was without taking Bora's deeper motivations into account.

And to think, we hadn't even left port yet, and I already hated being here.

* * *

Bora came for us roughly ten minutes after the ship set sail, likely because we weren't drinking the wine like all the other women. Lucy wasn't much of a drinker, though the legal limit was as low as fifteen in Fiore, but I'd opted out because I was about ninety percent sure it was drugged. I couldn't recall the specifics, of course, but drugging seemed the most likely option for knocking out a group of women this large. I imagine it'd really be an issue if some of them didn't drink and happened to be standing there when everyone else passed out.

"Come, come, Ladies," Bora was saying, gesturing to the doorway he was holding open for us. "I keep all my best wine over here; you'll love it, I assure you."

Nonetheless, we had followed him reluctantly down a hallway leading right up nearly to the rear of the ship, and as I glanced into the room ahead of us, the part that stood out the most was the large white curtain spanning the length of the left wall. There was a round table and a couch placed in front of it, with a tall wooden cabinet along the opposite wall, accompanied on either side by decorative end tables.

"Thank you," Lucy said, her voice strained and her shoulders stiff as she stepped past us into the room. "How kind of you."

I followed without a word or a glance to Bora, carefully smoothing out the skirt of my dress (a long double-slit I'd paired with stretchy short-shorts for modesty) as I settled down next to her, and though I could sense nothing behind the curtain, I wondered if Bora's men had been put in place yet. I might not have been all that great with remembering the series' finer details, but that was one thing that was clear to my memory, even now.

"I don't believe I've had the pleasure of learning your names, yet," Bora said, looking over his shoulder at us as he made his way over to the cabinet, fiddling around inside it.

"My name is Lucy," My sister said with a reluctant glance at me, "and this is Lori."

Bora turned and walked over to us, a bottle of wine and three glasses in his hands. "Lovely names for equally lovely ladies," he told us with a smirk, setting the glasses down on the table and popping the cork on the wine in one swift movement. "Let's start with a toast, shall we?"

"Don't you have to attend to other girls," Lucy asked nervously, meeting my eyes briefly as Bora began pouring wine into two of the three glasses.

"It's okay," He said, setting the wine bottle onto the table and lifting his hand above the glasses. "I'd rather have a drink with the two of you."

He snapped his fingers and some of the wine floated into the air, hovering like raindrops between us. "Try opening your mouths," he told us, pushing the wine forward telekinetically with a little smirk, "and pearls of wine will slowly float inside for you."

Lucy's expression soured and her eyes narrowed suspiciously, but Bora ignored the look in favor of hovering the wine closer to us. I met Lucy's eyes briefly, and in the next instant, we rose from the couch together, Lucy throwing aside the wine droplets with a sweep of her arm. "What, did you think a sleeping drug would fool us?" She asked, and I took that as my cue, using a bit of telekinesis to sweep aside the curtain behind us.

Lucy gasped at the action, glancing behind us at the shocked group of men who'd previously been hiding there, and I called magic into my hands, the color shining a deep, angry red, throwing it out at them like a shockwave. They all went tumbling at the action, yelling and cursing, and I turned to glare at Bora and he glared back with a rather nasty smirk. "Next time, maybe try something a little less obvious than a curtain in the middle of the room."

"I'll remember that," He said, lifting his arms in preparation, and beside me, Lucy reached through the slit in her dress, tugging her keys from the holster we'd attached to the opposite leg. "But really, if you'd just gone to sleep peacefully like good little girls, you wouldn't have to get hurt!"

Bora hurled a stream of his purple fire at us, and I threw out a blast of my own to block it, the crimson magic exploding upon contact with his. Smoke erupted between us, and Bora cried out with anger, preparing another attack just as the other men came in for round two.

"Open! Gate of the Giant Crab!" Lucy called, holding the golden key out between us. "Cancer!"

He appeared in an instant, pristine and well-groomed as always, and immediately went to work on the larger group, and I focused entirely on Bora, conjuring a little barrier to block the next bit of fire he hurled at us and watching carefully as his magic swirled and swished through the air in ways that fire didn't usually do. Dropping my shield the moment his attack faded, I held out a hand and rapid-fired a set of bullets made entirely of blood red light, my anger at the situation giving strength to the attack, and Bora threw himself to the side to dodge it just as Lucy shrieked behind me. I turned to look at her just in time to spot Cancer fading out, and I noted that a great deal of the men were done, either bald, half-naked, or bleeding from cuts made by Cancer's scissors. The few that had escaped the worst of it were closing in on Lucy now, and as she reached for her keys once more, the ceiling exploded inward. Debris rained down in the space between us and Bora, accompanied by a body clothed in red, and the whole room seemed to erupt in shock.

"It's that brat from earlier!" Bora exclaimed as the dust cleared to reveal Natsu, and in the instant before his motion-sickness kicked in, the serious look on his face spoke volumes.

"Hey, it's Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed, and a look of nausea came over Natsu's face as he crumpled to the ground with a hand over his mouth. "Seriously?! That's so lame!"

"What's going on?!" Bora questioned loudly, looking from Natsu to the hole in the ceiling and back. "Why would a brat fall from the sky?!"

"Lucy? Lori?" A high-pitched voice spoke from above us, and I looked up, catching sight of Happy floating in the hole Natsu had made with his landing. "What are you doing here?"

"What's it look like we're doing?" I returned, eyes focused curiously on the wings flapping along behind the little blue cat.

"This jerk tricked us!" Lucy was quick to explain, pointing over at Bora accusingly. "He said he was going to let us join Fairy Tail!"

Said man was looking very angry and much too ready to continue the fight we'd started, and I pooled magic into my hand, my growing anger at Bora keeping the color firmly at a deep, blood red. "Happy, get Lucy out of here!"

Happy shot down between us in an instant, clearly not wanting to question me while my hand was glowing, and as Bora's magic erupted in response, I threw out a blast to block it, as before; I heard Lucy shrieking in the next moment as she was pulled into the air and straight up through the hole. Bora screeched in anger, throwing out another blast of fire aimed at Lucy and Happy, and I hurled a burst of spectral magic right at it, the attacks exploding on contact above us.

"Don't let them get away! We can't let them report us to the magic council!" Bora ordered, and several of the men who still could ran out of the room, intending to do just that. "You're really starting to get on my nerves, Lady!" He told me, sneering a moment later when what sounded like gunfire erupted outside.

"Yeah, well, the feeling's mutual," I countered, glaring at him with my hands held up between us, magic at the ready.

"Still," He continued with a despicable smirk. "Someone with your kind of power could make me a lot of money on the black market; why don't you be a good girl and come quietly so I don't have to ruin that pretty face?"

"I think we've already established what kind of girl I am," I shot back at him, muscles tensing in preparation for his next attack. "Blind obedience just isn't my thing."

It happened abruptly. The ship rocked violently, and my feet left the ground as I was hurled with a shriek into the nearest wall; the room tilted sideways as the ship twisted about over the water, sending furniture and people tumbling every which way. Hastily, I threw my arms out on either side of me, and a shimmering goldenrod-colored bubble appeared around me just as I was sent flying across the room. I hit the wall bubble-first and bounced off with a screech, hurtling over and around everyone else until I was rebounding from one wall to another like a human pinball, and as the ocean roared loudly in my ears, I felt almost dizzy enough to hurl. My impromptu bubble bounced once or twice more as the world seemed to slow to a stop around me, and I let the magic fade away, slipping down onto shaky knees and clapping a hand over my mouth while I waited for the queasiness to subside.

"What the hell is going on?" Bora asked in shocked confusion, the question sounding out amid a chorus of groaning and shuffling from the men who were still conscious, and I squinted past the dizziness in an effort to see who'd landed where.

Natsu was several feet in front of me, just past the curtain that had originally divided the room, and over by the wall across from us were Bora and several of his men, a few of which had been knocked out in all the commotion. The door we'd come in through was on the right, and I realized then that we'd somehow switched places because I was currently kneeling about where most of the men had been hiding, before. At least the ship was still mostly upright and intact, despite being grounded; too much worse, and someone could easily have gotten hurt or killed in the chaos.

"It stopped," I heard Natsu mumbling as he rose slowly to his feet, and as my stomach began to settle, I lowered my hand to my lap. "The rocking stopped."

He stood there for a moment just watching Bora, who was glaring back at us like we were a couple of pests that needed to be squashed. Abruptly, the door slammed open, and Lucy appeared, dripping wet and completely barefoot.

"Lori! Natsu!" She yelled with a panicked look on her face. "Are you okay?!" She froze, then, wide eyes trained on Natsu, and I found myself wondering at the expression she found there; I was too far behind him to see it properly, myself.

"Are you a mage of Fairy Tail?" Natsu asked with his eyes on Bora, his voice fierce and angry now that he no longer had to worry about his motion-sickness getting in the way.

"What of it, Brat? You know, you shouldn't get onto other people's ships without permission," Bora replied while scratching his chin, and as he turned to glance back at his men, Natsu moved to take off his jacket. "Hey, throw him out, already!"

A couple of them ran at us, aiming for Natsu, and Lucy squealed and reached for her keys, but Happy, who'd snuck up behind her when no one was looking, held up a small blue paw to stop her, murmuring something I didn't quite catch from this distance. Lucy shrieked in surprise, and as I rose carefully to my feet in anticipation of the fight to come, I wondered briefly just what he'd said to her. Ahead of me, Natsu removed his jacket completely and threw it behind him at me just as the men drew within feet of him, and I reached out to catch it, as he did; he lifted his right arm and slammed the two of them roughly to the side, his gaze still clearly fixed on Bora.

"I'm Natsu from Fairy Tail, and I've never seen you before!" he stated, fury lacing every word, and Bora screeched in frightful disbelief.

"Fairy Tail?!" Lucy exclaimed incredulously, her face going wide with shock. "Natsu is a mage from Fairy Tail?!"

"That mark!"

"This guy's the real deal, Bora!"

"Idiot!" Bora yelled, turning to glare back at the men who had spoken. "Don't call me that!"

"I don't care what kind of person you are," Natsu said, his voice fierce and angry. "Good or bad, it doesn't matter, but I can't forgive you for using our good name!"

"You noisy brat!" Bora exclaimed, throwing a large burst of his purple magic in our direction, and instinctively, I took a step forward, pulling magic into my hand to block it.

"Don't," Natsu murmured, turning his head a fraction to glance at me over his shoulder, and I found myself hesitating.

The attack eclipsed him, and I lifted an arm to shield my face from the heat; peeking through my fingers, I watched in awe as Natsu took in a great breath, and Bora's magic curved toward his face in midair, disappearing into him within seconds. I'd forgotten for a moment that Bora's magic was fire-based and that Natsu could eat it, but the real thing was so much better than the vague mental images I'd always conjured up when thinking about him.

Natsu's magic was truly amazing.

"Man, that was nasty," Natsu commented in disgust, seeming unaffected by the wide-eyed, terrified stares of Bora and his crew, and off to the side, Lucy watched the whole thing in a state of open-mouthed shock. "But thanks for the food," Natsu said, his voice mocking, and Bora visibly recoiled. "I feel stronger, already."

"What the hell are you?!" Bora cried, stepping back against the wall in horror.

"No way!" Another man exclaimed disbelievingly. "Did he just eat fire?!"

Natsu ignored them and braced himself, and I could feel the magic power growing and building within him to a level that was almost unreal for just one technique. "Here I come!" He warned, drawing back, and I saw his hands come up to cup around his mouth.

"Bora! I've seen him before!" One of the men shouted, but I didn't have it in me to look away from Natsu, just then. The magic built and built, and he was sucking in more air than one person should have been able to hold, and for some reason, it all made my heart beat a little faster than before. "Rosy hair and a scarf like scales, there's no doubt! He's the real…"

In the next instant, flames spewed from Natsu's mouth in a wide arc heading straight for Bora and what remained of his crew, and I took a step back at the sheer heat of it, so intense I could feel it even several feet behind him. The force of it threw up a fierce wind, and I shielded my face with his jacket as the room exploded outward, the men screaming as they were sent flying out beyond the ship. Natsu, ignoring everything else, went bounding off after them with a yell, and I was left standing among the remains with Lucy and Happy.

"Salamander…"

 **End Chapter**

I am most definitely going to come back and edit all this later. And yes, I ended it before the original manga chapter would have, but I already have the next bit planned out, anyway, and this chapter was getting on my nerves. The stuff with Lori's fight came easily enough, but Natsu's side of things did not want to go right. I ended up cutting out a lot of the explanations and side-convos, too, because it just didn't seem to fit in a situation where that stuff is happening, real-time, and since most of this came from the manga chapter (minus a few bits of dialogue, where the anime said it better), there aren't actually any attacks called out, like in the anime. I didn't even realize it wasn't there until I got to writing, so I'm probably going to end up going back and forth with characters calling out attacks, depending on the situation. Maybe, make it a personal preference that changes from mage to mage, or something? I don't really read the manga, so I never knew there was a difference with calling stuff out, between the two.

Anyway, future edits on this chapter will probably just be more about the confrontations and the fighting than anything else, as I'm not fully comfortable with it, just yet. Once I get further into the story and get the battles and stuff situated with my writing style, I'll go back over everything else, to make sure it all matches up the same way, but none of these edits should affect the plot, and they likely won't happen for a while, anyway. So, as far as that goes, you guys should be totally fine.


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